"called them the Caspian Gates. Twenty and two Kings did I shut up therein. These pseudepigraphic letters from Alexander to his mother Olympias and his tutor Aristotle, describing his marvellous adventures at the end of the World, date back to the original Greek recension α written in the 4th century in Alexandria. The letters are ""the literary expression of a living popular tradition"" that had been evolving for at least three centuries before the Quran was written. Several historical figures, both Muslim and Christian, searched for Alexander's Gate and several different identifications were made with actual walls. During the Middle"
"Plato Plato (; ""Plátōn"", in Classical Attic; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a philosopher in Classical Greece and the founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. He is widely considered the pivotal figure in the development of Western philosophy. Unlike nearly all of his philosophical contemporaries, Plato's entire work is believed to have survived intact for over 2,400 years. Along with his teacher, Socrates, and his most famous student, Aristotle, Plato laid the foundations of Western philosophy and science. Alfred North Whitehead once noted: ""the safest general characterization of"
"(55–135 AD), Marcus Aurelius (121–180 AD), Clement of Alexandria (150–215 AD), Alcinous (2nd century AD), Sextus Empiricus (3rd century AD), Alexander of Aphrodisias (3rd century AD), Ammonius Saccas (3rd century AD), Plotinus (205–270 AD), Porphyry (232–304 AD), Iamblichus (242–327 AD), Themistius (317–388 AD), Augustine of Hippo (354–430 AD), Proclus (411–485 AD), Philoponus of Alexandria (490–570 AD), Damascius (462–540 AD), Boethius (472–524 AD), and Simplicius of Cilicia (490–560 AD). Roman philosophy was heavily influenced by that of Greece. Italian Medieval philosophy was mainly Christian, and included several important philosophers and theologians such as St Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas was the student of"
"Philiscus of Aegina Philiscus of Aegina (; fl. 4th century BC) was a Cynic philosopher from Aegina who lived in the latter half of the 4th century BC. He was the son of Onesicritus who sent Philiscus and his younger brother, Androsthenes, to Athens where they were so charmed by the philosophy of Diogenes of Sinope that Onesicritus also came to Athens and became his disciple. According to Hermippus of Smyrna, Philiscus was the pupil of Stilpo. He is also described as an associate of Phocion. The ""Suda"" claims that he was a teacher of Alexander the Great, but no"
"and Agathon, as well as the famous Athenian playwright Euripides. The philosopher Aristotle, who studied at the Platonic Academy of Athens and established the Aristotelian school of thought, moved to Macedonia, and is said to have tutored the young Alexander the Great, as well as serving as an esteemed diplomat for PhilipII. Among Alexander's retinue of artists, writers, and philosophers was Pyrrho of Elis, founder of Pyrrhonism, the school of philosophical skepticism. During the Antigonid period, Antigonos Gonatas fostered cordial relationships with Menedemos of Eretria, founder of the Eretrian school of philosophy, and Zenon, the founder of Stoicism. In terms"
"master, proved particularly influential; he seems to have introduced Marcus Aurelius to the philosophic way of life. In April 132, at the behest of Diognetus, Marcus took up the dress and habits of the philosopher: he studied while wearing a rough Greek cloak, and would sleep on the ground until his mother convinced him to sleep on a bed. A new set of tutors—Alexander of Cotiaeum, Trosius Aper, and Tuticius Proculus—took over Marcus' education in about 132 or 133. Little is known of the latter two (both teachers of Latin), but Alexander was a major littérateur, the leading Homeric scholar"
"his students. His most important treatises include ""Physics"", ""Metaphysics"", ""Nicomachean Ethics"", ""Politics"", ""On the Soul"" and ""Poetics"". Aristotle studied and made significant contributions to ""logic, metaphysics, mathematics, physics, biology, botany, ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine, dance and theatre."" Near the end of his life, Alexander and Aristotle became estranged over Alexander's relationship with Persia and Persians. A widespread tradition in antiquity suspected Aristotle of playing a role in Alexander's death, but the only evidence of this is an unlikely claim made some six years after the death. Following Alexander's death, anti-Macedonian sentiment in Athens was rekindled. In 322 BC, Demophilus and"
"which Alexander the Great performed at Ilium. There are lastly some other works which are of a grammatical nature, and may be the productions of Dicaearchus, viz. ""On Alcaeus"" (), and ""Summaries of the plots of Euripides and Sophocles"" (), but may have been the works of Dicaearchus, a grammarian of Lacedaemon, who, according to the Suda, was a disciple of Aristarchus, and seems to be alluded to in Apollonius. Dicaearchus Dicaearchus of Messana (; ""Dikaiarkhos""; ), also written Dicearchus or Dicearch (), was a Greek philosopher, cartographer, geographer, mathematician and author. Dicaearchus was Aristotle's student in the Lyceum. Very"
"with the changeable material things he called ""becoming"". Aristotle was a pupil of Plato. Aristotle was perhaps the first truly systematic philosopher and scientist. He wrote about physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, aesthetics, poetry, theater, music, rhetoric, politics and logic. Aristotelian logic was the first type of logic to attempt to categorize every valid syllogism. Aristotle tutored Alexander the Great. He in turn conquered much of the ancient world at a rapid pace. Hellenization and Aristotelian philosophy exercised considerable influence on almost all subsequent Western and Middle Eastern philosophers, including Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Western medieval, Jewish, and Islamic thinkers. Medieval philosophy"
"Pythagoreanism. Socrates the Younger Socrates the Younger (Greek: Σωκράτης ὁ νεώτερος, ""Sōkrátēs ho neōteros"", c. 415 – 4th century BCE) was an ancient Athenian philosopher. Ancient texts suggest that he was a young student of the elder Socrates and later a cohort of Plato. He is best remembered for his depiction in Plato's ""Statesman"", and scholars have suggested that he had ties to Academic and Pythagorean philosophy. Little is known of Socrates the Younger's life, although several clues from the writing of Plato have led scholars to posit his significance in the later circle of the elder Socrates and the"
"Stilpo. While little is known for certain about Pyrrho’s philosophy and life, his primary influencers were most likely early philosophers whose work focused on the indeterminacy of the world, such as Plato and the Eleatics. It is thought that he was taught by Anaxarchus of Abdera, and was also influenced by Eastern philosophy he encountered on a trip to India with Alexander the Great. Diogenes reports that Pyrrho, along with Anaxarchus, travelled with Alexander the Great on his exploration of the East, 'so that he even went as far as the Gymnosophists in India and the Magi' in Persia. This"
"Athens and, at the request of Philip II of Macedon, tutored Alexander the Great beginning in 343 BC. Teaching Alexander gave Aristotle many opportunities. He established a library in the Lyceum which helped him to produce many of his hundreds of books, which were papyrus scrolls. The fact that Aristotle was a pupil of Plato contributed to his former views of Platonism, but, following Plato's death, Aristotle immersed himself in empirical studies and shifted from Platonism to empiricism. He believed all concepts and knowledge were ultimately based on perception. Aristotle's views on natural sciences represent the groundwork underlying many of"
"have influenced Seneca and Saint Paul. Following his death, the people of Tarsus held an annual festival and sacrifice in his honour. Athenodorus Cananites Athenodorus Cananites (Greek: , ""Athenodoros Kananites""; c. 74 BC7 AD) was a Stoic philosopher. Athenodorus was born in Canana, near Tarsus (in modern-day Turkey); his father was Sandon. He was a student of Posidonius of Rhodes, and the teacher of Octavian (the future Caesar Augustus) at Apollonia. He was a personal friend of Strabo, from whom we derive some knowledge of his life. In 44 BC, he seems to have followed Octavian to Rome and continued"
"Socrates the Younger Socrates the Younger (Greek: Σωκράτης ὁ νεώτερος, ""Sōkrátēs ho neōteros"", c. 415 – 4th century BCE) was an ancient Athenian philosopher. Ancient texts suggest that he was a young student of the elder Socrates and later a cohort of Plato. He is best remembered for his depiction in Plato's ""Statesman"", and scholars have suggested that he had ties to Academic and Pythagorean philosophy. Little is known of Socrates the Younger's life, although several clues from the writing of Plato have led scholars to posit his significance in the later circle of the elder Socrates and the early"
"Anaximenes of Lampsacus Anaximenes of Lampsacus (; ; 320 BC) was a Greek rhetorician and historian. Anaximenes was a pupil of Zoilus and, like his teacher, wrote a work on Homer. As a rhetorician, he was a determined opponent of Isocrates and his school. He is generally regarded as the author of the ""Rhetoric to Alexander"", an ""Art of Rhetoric"" included in the traditional corpus of Aristotle's works. Quintilian seems to refer to this work under Anaximenes' name in ""Institutio Oratoria"" 3.4.9, as the Italian Renaissance philologist Piero Vettori first recognized. This attribution has, however, been disputed by some scholars."
"also began studying mathematics during this period as well with a teacher named Heron (no relation to Hero of Alexandria, who was also known as Heron). As a gifted student, he eventually became dissatisfied with the level of philosophical instruction available in Alexandria, and went to Athens, the pre-eminent philosophical center of the day, in 431 to study at the Neoplatonic successor of the famous Academy founded 800 years earlier (in 387 BC) by Plato; there he was taught by Plutarch of Athens (not to be confused with Plutarch of Chaeronea), Syrianus, and Asclepigenia; he succeeded Syrianus as head of"
"and Agathon, as well as the famous Athenian playwright Euripides. Although Archelaus was criticized by the philosopher Plato, supposedly hated by Socrates, and the first known Macedonian king to be insulted with the label of a barbarian, the historian Thucydides held the Macedonian king in glowing admiration for his accomplishments, including his engagement in panhellenic sports and fostering of literary culture. The philosopher Aristotle, who studied at the Platonic Academy of Athens and established the Aristotelian school of thought, moved to Macedonia, and is said to have tutored the young Alexander the Great, in addition to serving as an esteemed"
"and science. Plato's sophistication as a writer is evident in his Socratic dialogues. In classical tradition, Homer is the ancient Greek epic poet, author of the ""Iliad"", the ""Odyssey"" and other works. Homer's epics stand at the beginning of the western canon of literature, exerting enormous influence on the history of fiction and literature in general. Alexander the Great (356BC-323BC) was a Greek king of Macedon and the creator of one of the largest empires in ancient history. He was tutored by the philosopher Aristotle and, as ruler, broke the power of Persia, overthrew the Persian king Darius III and"
"perceptions of his teachings in politics and also on developing many new philosophical schools of thought. Some of Athens' controversial and anti-democratic tyrants were contemporary or posthumous students of Socrates including Alcibiades and Critias. Critias's cousin Plato would go on to found the Academy in 385 BC, which gained so much renown that ""Academy"" became the standard word for educational institutions in later European languages such as English, French, and Italian. Plato's protégé, another important figure of the Classical era, Aristotle went on to tutor Alexander the Great and also to found his own school in 335 BC—the Lyceum—whose name"
"'outside world'. This story explains the theory of forms with their different levels of reality, and advances the view that philosopher-kings are wisest while most humans are ignorant. One student of Plato (who would become another of the most influential philosophers of all time) stressed the implication that understanding relies upon first-hand observation. Aristotle moved to Athens from his native Stageira in 367 BC and began to study philosophy (perhaps even rhetoric, under Isocrates), eventually enrolling at Plato's Academy. He left Athens approximately twenty years later to study botany and zoology, became a tutor of Alexander the Great, and ultimately"
"Socrates Socrates (; , ; – 399 BC) was a classical Greek (Athenian) philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, and as being the first moral philosopher, of the Western ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, he made no writings, and is known chiefly through the accounts of classical writers writing after his lifetime, particularly his students Plato and Xenophon. Other sources include the contemporaneous Antisthenes, Aristippus, and Aeschines of Sphettos. Aristophanes, a playwright, is the only source to have written during his lifetime. Plato's dialogues are among the most comprehensive accounts of Socrates to survive"
"Athenodorus Cananites Athenodorus Cananites (Greek: , ""Athenodoros Kananites""; c. 74 BC7 AD) was a Stoic philosopher. Athenodorus was born in Canana, near Tarsus (in modern-day Turkey); his father was Sandon. He was a student of Posidonius of Rhodes, and the teacher of Octavian (the future Caesar Augustus) at Apollonia. He was a personal friend of Strabo, from whom we derive some knowledge of his life. In 44 BC, he seems to have followed Octavian to Rome and continued mentoring him there. He is reputed there to have openly rebuked the Emperor, and to have instructed him to recite the alphabet"
"Nicolaus of Damascus Nicolaus of Damascus (Greek: , ""Nikolāos Damaskēnos""; Latin: ""Nicolaus Damascenus"") was a Jewish historian and philosopher who lived during the Augustan age of the Roman Empire. His name is derived from that of his birthplace, Damascus. He was born around 64 BC. He was an intimate friend of Herod the Great, whom he survived by a number of years. He was also the tutor of the children of Mark Antony and Cleopatra (born in 40 BC), according to Sophronius. He went to Rome with Herod Archelaus. Given that Book 4 of his History was on Abraham, Nicholas"
"Stagira (ancient city) Stagira (), Stagirus (), or Stageira ( or ) was an ancient Greek city, located in central Macedonia, near the eastern coast of the peninsula of Chalkidice, and is chiefly known for being the birthplace of Aristotle, who was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. The city lies approximately north northeast of the present-day village of Stagira, close to the town of Olympiada. Stagira was founded in 655 BC by Ionian settlers from Andros. Xerxes I of Persia occupied it in 480 BC. The city later joined the"
"for the Actor"", lists the ""Enchiridion"" in the bibliography. Note 70. http://williamostephens.com Epictetus Epictetus (; , ""Epíktētos""; 55 135 AD) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was born a slave at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present day Pamukkale, Turkey) and lived in Rome until his banishment, when he went to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece for the rest of his life. His teachings were written down and published by his pupil Arrian in his ""Discourses"" and ""Enchiridion"". Epictetus taught that philosophy is a way of life and not just a theoretical discipline. To Epictetus, all external events are beyond our control; we should"
"was presumably dead by the time Cicero was learning philosophy in Athens in 79 BC. Dardanus of Athens Dardanus (; , ""Dardanos"") was a Stoic philosopher, lived c. 160-c. 85 BC. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon and Antipater of Tarsus. Cicero mentions him as being one of the leaders of the Stoic school () at Athens together with Mnesarchus at a time when Antiochus of Ascalon was turning away from scepticism (c. 95 BC). After the death of Panaetius (109 BC), the Stoic school at Athens seems to have fragmented, and Dardanus was probably one of several"
"Kalanos Kalanos, also spelled Calanus ( – 323 BCE) was a gymnosophist (literally ""naked philosopher""), a philosopher from Taxila who accompanied Alexander the Great to Persis and later committed suicide by self-immolation. It was from Kalanos that Alexander came to know of Dandamis, the leader of their group, whom Alexander later went to meet in the forest. Plutarch indicates his real name was Sphínēs and that he was from Taxila, but since he greeted people with the word ""Kalē!"" - perhaps ""kallāṇa (mitta)"" ""Greetings (friend)"" - the Greeks called him Kalanos. Kalanos lived at Taxila and led an austere life."
"sources, may produce an illusory impression of genuineness."" Doubts even exist when considering the philosophical positions held to originate in Thales ""in reality these stem directly from Aristotle's own interpretations which then became incorporated in the doxographical tradition as erroneous ascriptions to Thales"". (The same treatment was given by Aristotle to Anaxagoras.) Most philosophic analyses of the philosophy of Thales come from Aristotle, a professional philosopher, tutor of Alexander the Great, who wrote 200 years after Thales' death. Aristotle, judging from his surviving books, does not seem to have access to any works by Thales, although he probably had access"
"Rufus, which allowed him to rise in respectability as he grew more educated. Somehow, he became crippled. Origen stated that his leg was deliberately broken by his master. Simplicius stated that he had been lame from childhood. Epictetus obtained his freedom sometime after the death of Nero in 68 A.D., and he began to teach philosophy in Rome. About 93 A.D. Emperor Domitian banished all philosophers from the city, and Epictetus went to Nicopolis in Epirus, Greece, where he founded a philosophical school. His most famous pupil, Arrian, studied under him when a young man (c. 108 A.D.) and claimed"
"Stephanus of Alexandria Stephanus of Alexandria (Stephanus Alexandrinus, Stephanos of Alexandria) was a 7th-century Byzantine philosopher, astronomer and teacher. He was a public lecturer in the court of Heraclius (610-641 AD). In the manuscripts he is called the Universal Philosopher. He taught on Plato and Aristotle, and on Geometry, Arithmetic, Alchemy, Astronomy and Music. 1. A commentary on Aristotle. Editions: 2. A commentary on the Isagogue of Porphyry. Editions: 3. Astronomical and chronological works. Editions: 4. Alchemical works. Scholars are divided as to whether or not these are authentic works of the same Stephen of Alexandria due to the style"
"largely in the works of Diogenes Laertius. Eusebius extracted a large portion in his ""Chaldean Chronicle"". One of Alexander’s students was Gaius Julius Hyginus, Latin author, scholar and friend of Ovid, who was appointed by Augustus to be superintendent of the Palatine library. From what Laërtius describes or paraphrases in his work, Alexander recorded various thoughts on contradictions, fate, life, soul and its parts, perfect figures, and different curiosities, such as advice not to eat beans. Louis Ginzberg wrote of Alexander’s work: “Although these excerpts reveal their author as nothing but a compiler without taste or judgment, and bereft of"
"the 9th century, long enough to facilitate an Arabic revival of the Neoplatonist commentary tradition in Baghdad, Beginning with the foundation of the House of Wisdom in 832; one of the major centers of learning in the intervening period (6th to 8th centuries) was the Academy of Gundishapur in Sassanid Persia. Platonic Academy The Academy (Ancient Greek: Ἀκαδημία) was founded by Plato (428/427 BC – 348/347 BC) in c. 387 BC in Athens. Aristotle (384–322 BC) studied there for twenty years (367–347 BC) before founding his own school, the Lyceum. The Academy persisted throughout the Hellenistic period as a skeptical"
"Middle Ages. The origin of the treatise remains uncertain. The Arabic edition claims to be a translation from Greek by 9th-century scholar Abu Yahya ibn al-Batriq (died 815 CE), and one of the main translators of Greek-language philosophical works for Al-Ma'mun, working from a Syriac edition which was itself translated from a Greek original. It contains supposed letters from Aristotle to his pupil Alexander the Great. No such texts have been discovered and it appears the work was actually composed in Arabic. The letters may thus derive from the Islamic and Persian legends surrounding Alexander. The Arabic treatise is preserved"